Texas NAIP Facilities Reach Safety Milestones in June

In June, two Texas facilities reached safety milestones. The Houston IBC Reconditioning facility achieved four years without a recordable incident on June 10 while the Hutchins Large Packaging and Reconditioning facility reached 3 years without a recordable incident on June 13. Both teams celebrated with a catered lunch and heard from leaders about the importance of continuing the commitment to safety that led to these milestones.

We recently sat down with Eric Chisha, Plant Manager of the Houston Reco IBC facility, to learn more about the safety culture at the facility and how the culture led to this milestone.

Global Communications (GC): Congratulations on reaching this milestone. Can you share some background on the Houston Reco IBC facility and highlight the key efforts over the past four years that have helped your team maintain such a strong safety record?

Eric Chisha (EC): Thank you. We moved into our current facility in January 2021, and the transition was much more than just a change of address. With the move, we shifted many of our processes to incorporate greater automation and machinery. While this helped reduce some manual labor and mitigate certain safety risks, it also introduced new challenges. Our team had to adapt to unfamiliar equipment and new procedures, which initially increased the potential for risk.

That’s why we made employee safety a top priority throughout every phase of the transition. From the layout of the facility to the development of our standard operating procedures, safety was a key consideration in every decision we made.

Since we were already learning to operate new equipment, we saw the move as a fresh start and an opportunity to reinforce safe work practices from the ground up. We made it a priority to ensure every team member received thorough training to perform tasks safely and correctly. In the early months, our productivity dipped as we focused more on building a strong safety foundation than on speed. But as the team grew more comfortable with the new equipment and processes, productivity steadily improved—and we had already established the safe habits and behaviors needed to protect our team long-term.

GC: Sounds like your team laid a foundation for safe operations that reduces the risk of incidents. Have the standard operating procedures and training proven to keep employees safe?

EC: Yes and no. Reaching this milestone is a strong indicator that we’re on the right path, but safety is never something we can take for granted. Just having the right processes in place doesn’t guarantee zero incidents. Our last safety incident, which occurred several years ago, was a wake-up call that prompted us to reassess our risk mitigation strategies. It reminded us that safe operating procedures are only effective when every team member is fully committed to working safely and looking out for one another.

GC: What are some of the ways you and your team work to make sure employees take safety seriously?

EC: One of the most impactful things we can do is engage with employees daily about safety concerns. I make it a point to walk the floor every day and speak directly with our operators to see if they need anything—and we strive to address those needs as quickly as possible. These daily interactions help us catch small issues early, like worn-out fatigue mats or a fan in need of minor repair, before they escalate into something that could lead to a safety incident.

In addition to having ongoing safety conversations throughout each shift, our supervisors play a key role in identifying anything that seems “out of the ordinary” in the facility. When something isn’t normal, the risk of injury tends to increase. For example, if a workstation isn’t properly cleaned at the end of the previous shift, clutter left behind could create a tripping hazard. Spotting and addressing these kinds of issues early helps us maintain a safer work environment for everyone.

GC: What are some of the primary safety risks at your facility and what does your team do to mitigate those risks?

EC: I would say our two biggest risk areas are the containers we receive in our facility and the use of improper or broken tools. As a reconditioning facility, we deal with an unpredictability in the condition of the containers we receive and the substances that may be in those containers. We adhere to a meticulous inbound process to ensure we don’t receive unsafe containers and that we aren’t letting in chemical or other substances into our facility that we are not prepared to deal with. If containers don’t meet our qualifications for acceptability, then we will reject the container before it ever enters our plant. While it may seem easier – and more financially beneficial – to accept any and all IBCs for reconditioning, it’s not worth the risk of injury to one of our employees if they are handling unknown substances that could cause chemical burn or dangerous spills.

In regard to tools, it is important to ensure that our employees are equipped with the right tools to complete their tasks and make sure those tools remain in good condition. If employees don’t have the right tools – or their tools don’t work properly – then they will create ways to complete their task and those methods are not usually safe. A person’s limb is worth a lot more than the cost to replace a tool that is broken or worn out.

GC: Thanks for talking with us today. Is there anything else you would like to share as we wrap things up?

EC: I’d just like to say that I am very proud of this team and what we have accomplished together. While we enjoyed celebrating this milestone, we remain committed to upholding safe behaviors all the time.